I dont normally see the vehicals until they are off warrenty but a freind of mine that works for Ford said the new engines had the problem solved. He also said one of the new ones and i cannot remember the model takes 8 hrs. to change the plugs might want check some of the flat rate on what you are buying

They claim to have fixed it in 2003. My 2001 Excursion was a piece of junk (sure did look nice though...) and Ford told me to pound sand when it blew up and was "under warranty" when they refused to cover it.

What problem? I was told by Ford that mine was the only one that blew out a plug, in the middle of no where, and if it did, it was my fault. (For buying a FORD in the first place). Gives a new meaning to "Built Ford Tough"
I would never believe that they have fixed the problem they say they never had.

The "current" spark plug problem is the plug unthreads from the head when you change them, but leaves part of the plug permanently imbedded in the head. I know this is an issue with 2004-2006 5.4 engines, but with 100,000 mile plug change intervals, you may not experience that particular issue if you trade before the truck has 100,000 miles on it.

__________________
Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy, and taste good with ketchup.
Terry

The "current" spark plug problem is the plug unthreads from the head when you change them, but leaves part of the plug permanently imbedded in the head. I know this is an issue with 2004-2006 5.4 engines, but with 100,000 mile plug change intervals, you may not experience that particular issue if you trade before the truck has 100,000 miles on it.

I was reading in another thread about this spark plug problem. does anyone know if they fixed this or.... should i not even think about a 5.4 ford gasser. 2009 or 2010.

i am considering a smaller AS now and thinking about a gas truck.
i am only looking at buying new.

thanks

Hi, My 5.4 L Lincoln engine won't have that problem because it is a slightly different animal. [dual overhead cam 4 valves per cylinder] The 5.4 L engine with single overhead cam, two valve heads, were the ones mentioned. Under warranty Ford would not repair these heads, but we were required to replace them with a new head. After warranty, we have a special insert, that will take care of this and save a lot of money. The newer 5.4 L heads are three valve and use a different spark plug; These don't have that problem. This isn't something that happens to all of the effected engines, but a very small percentage of them. High numbers of production will also have higher numbers of failures. [basic math] Sort-of like all Marathons are going to explode and destroy your trailer. It is also recommended to only remove the spark plugs when the engine is cold on engines with aluminum heads or the threads will be destroyed.